8-year-old critical after being hit by L train in Evanston

An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized after being hit by a CTA Purple Line L train Saturday afternoon in Evanston. | Network Video Productions

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Maudlyne Iherijika and Luke Wilusz

An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition after being hit by a CTA Purple Line L train Saturday afternoon as he and another boy walked along the L tracks near the Dempster Street station in Evanston.

The boy was hit by a southbound Purple Line train around 1:05 p.m. but was awake and able to speak when officers got there, according to Evanston police Cmdr. Joe Dugan.

He said the injured boy suffered a head injury. The other boy wasn’t hurt.

“We received an 8-year-old child who was struck by an L train this afternoon, and this patient is in critical condition,” Dr. Matthew Valente, the physician who treated him, said later Saturday outside the emergency department at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston.

He said the boy was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital’s trauma unit.

“We are all thinking about this patient, and we hope that this patient will have a meaningful recovery,” Valente said.

Purple Line trains were briefly halted in both directions after the boy was hit, but service had resumed by 2 p.m., according to the transit agency.